For guests who wish to enjoy commencement on campus during commencement weekend April 29-May 3 but are not able to attend in the O'Connell Center, we invite you to view the live-stream at a "watch party" in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. You can watch the ceremonies on the big screens of the stadium then re-join your graduate afterward.
Please note that anyone in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is asked to maintain 6-foot physical distance from persons not in your party. As with all of our venues, masks will be mandatory.
Doors to the stadium will open 1 hour prior to the start of the ceremony and will close 30 minutes after the end of the ceremony. Parking is available in any lot or garage on campus unless marked otherwise. Note: the O'Connell Center lot and garage is restricted for O'Connell Center graduate and guest use exclusively.
Venue rules will apply to these watch parties, including the clear bag policy. You can find the full prohibited items list here, please note this list does include umbrellas.
Concessions will not be sold during these watch parties; water fountains and bottle filling stations will be accessible. Empty commercial water bottles (such as Nestle or Aquafina) may be brought in to be filled in the bottle and fountain stations.
We will host these watch parties rain-or-shine. However, if there is a lightning strike within 8 miles of the venue, safety regulations require us to evacuate the stands. Attendees may remain in the hallways and corridors of the venue until there has been no lightning detected within 8 miles for 30 minutes, at which point the stands can re-open.